Barge Work
01/10/06: A new year brings a new job on the ol' Pipeliner 5. This time we are mobbing out of the Freshwater City dock. This brings the van ride through the middle of the state, the area hit by Hurricane Rita. I was able to see Lake Charles and I’s southern areas. This area was not completely destroyed, but had areas hit hard by Hurricane Rita. I didn't have my camera with me, so I didn't take any pictures this time. The job was located in East Cameron 195. This was the first job in months that I haven't been able to see land on the horizon. That means one thing, DEPTH! The ocean floor was a 114 feet below. The job was to finish an assembly piece and lay a four inch pipeline. The bottom was consinst of sand and mud. The problem with sand, is that when you dig into the bottom the sand starts to fill into the hole. This can be a problem that can be solved with using an air lift. The air lift is a simple tube that is usually over six feet long, that has a mass amount of air pushing through it. The air is plumbed at the bottom of the tube and creates a vacuum as the air rushes to the surface.
W.O.W.
01/14/06: Weather. Today we were hit by some bad weather, that made us flee the work site. The swellss reached around 10 feet, hell probably even more. The barge like usual waited until the last moment to leave the work site, making the last dive exiciting adventure. The weather startesd to pick up as soon as the sun broke through the horizon. The problem was that the end of the 4 inch pipeline was still attached to the barge. It was up to a diver to lower the pipeline to the bottom. And who was up to this call, well me of course. Actually it was my turn in rotation, but answering the call sounded much better. The pipe was hooked up to the crane and lowered into the sea. I entered the water and had to go down the pipeline. The problem is that the pipeline acts like a broncoing bull as the barge is constantly hit by large swells. I was able to make it down to bottom without being tossed off and layed the pipeline back into its ditch. Piece of cake.